IKEA Is Going to Sell Rugs Made by Syrian Refugees

The Syrian refugee crisis has sent shockwaves around the world, with millions of Syrian people escaping to other countries in hopes of fleeing violence. But once they reach other countries, many of them have trouble finding work and struggle to provide for their families. Now, one global company is stepping up, with a new project that specifically aims to employ women who have escaped the conflict in Syria.

CNNMoney reports that IKEA is working with local organizations in Jordan to start employing women refugees from Syria. The project will likely employ 200 Syrian refugees in Jordan, most of them women, to create rugs and textiles for a limited-edition line. The rugs will be sold starting in 2019, and mostly in the Middle East, both in Jordan and in other countries that trade with them. But the Financial Times adds that the company might consider selling to other countries at a later date. The design is expected to be a mix between traditional Jordanian style and IKEA's Scandinavian look.

This is just the latest move from IKEA to help refugees around the world. They have created flat-pack shelters for refugees around the world, which can be assembled on site without any additional tools. Those shelters just won the 2017 Beazley Design of the Year award, and the company has distributed 16,000 units around the world since 2015, People reports. And the company has also donated more than $30 million for lighting and energy in refugee camps.

Last year, IKEA also built a room to show what a damaged home in Syria looks like. They placed it right in the middle of a store, to show shoppers what's really going on in the rubble of Syria's civil war.

"The situation in Syria is a major tragedy of our time, and Jordan has taken a great responsibility in hosting Syrian refugees," Jesper Brodin, a managing director at Ikea, told CNNMoney. "We decided to look into how IKEA can contribute."

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